We've had an abundance of Lebanese zucchini in the veggie patch lately, so I've been trying to use them in as many ways as possible. One of our favourites is what my kids refer to as "Poppy's zucchini dish". It's a recipe that their Poppy introduced me to, which of course I have modified and has become a staple in our house. Full of protein, fibre and nutrients, it surely is a good way to use those zucchini up!

Ingredients:
8 Lebanese zucchini
1/2 cup quinoa
200g mince lamb (or beef)
1 onion
2 carrots (peeled)
1 rib celery (chopped)
Stem from a broccoli
Stem from a cauliflower
1 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp oregano
3 cloves garlic (crushed)
700g passata sauce
Olive oil

Method:
Hollow out zucchini with a knife or a zucchini corer (this is the hardest part). Reserve the inner part of the zucchini that you have removed.

Dice the onion and sautée in olive oil until translucent, add 1/2 tsp of mixed spice and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Turn off heat.

Rinse the quinoa under filtered water and add it to the warm onion along with the mince meat and 1 clove of crushed garlic. Mix and then stuff inside your hollowed zucchini (you will need to use your hands here to poke the mixture inside). Once stuffed, place each zucchini in a baking dish.

In a food processor, add the remaining vegetables, herbs and the insides from the zucchini that you had reserved earlier and pulse until small. Add passata sauce and pulse again. Pour this vegetable sauce over the top of the stuffed zucchini and cover with baking paper and foil.

Bake in oven at 180 degrees celsius for about 1&1/2 - 2 hours or until the zucchini are soft when poked. Serve with some steamed beans or just eat them as an all in one meal!

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of them once they were cooked, but this is the one I was eating for lunch today!